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[QUOTE="jncuse, post: 5682155, member: 1969"]
One factor that can't be ignored is that a fair bit of the Canadian population is upset at the US politically - many feel hurt, frustrated, disappointed.  I'm not going to turn this into a political thread -- people can make there own judgments as to who is right or wrong or if some sides are taking things too personally.  But fact is the political environment has created tension and how Canadians feel, so this game just becomes an outlet for those frustrations in both the February 2025 and February 2026 games.

I think Canada has realized that the US is "the" hockey rivalry for a while.   As mentioned in my post above about the late 2010's is when it became clear that these were the clear two hockey powers (even if Canada was a bit above), especially as the US was strong in drafts at the time.   There was a long dry patch for best vs best hockey from 2016 to 2025.   By the time 2025 hit, Canadians wanted  Canada vs US (for hockey reasons... and then other reasons) and we have got it 2 years in a row.    Unlike the 2010 or 2014 Olympics, the level of talent between the two teams is far closer now.  Those strong drafts from 2015-2019 have a lot to do with it.

I think we are pretty close to equals right now and I don't think that will change for a while... the US will be able to run its strong 2015-2019 drafts into the 2028 World Cup and the 2030 Olympics.    But Canada will likely make a push back by 2030-2034, as they have dominated the top of the NHL draft in the 2020's.
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